Nuu Ami Mossy Greens

In 1997, we explored the tiny island of Nuu Ami.. This island was infested with rats and we encountered them commonly in tree hollows where we would have expected leachianus. Rats commonly roamed the edges of the shore at night. We did find a few leachianus, primarily in trees during the day. One specimen was on the ground in a hollow at the base of a tree. Ants were also abundant here. This unique population of leachianus is on the verge of extinction. Like Nuu Ana leachianus, they are an ecotype 3 variant, and primarily frugivorous. We reported these geckos in the Vivarium magazine as Island H geckos.

Characteristics include:

• Relatively small size
• Heavy bodied
• Foreshortened snout and 'buggy eyes'
• Iris with gray and dark reticulations on outer edge
• Pattern is complex with a dark greenish background and fuzzy edged blotches, often pinkish with speckling the same color as the background color. There is often a series of blotches down the middle of the back in the shape of an irregular W. There may be tannish mottling in the background color. The overall effect is 'lichenous'.
• The body and head of adults is heavily speckled with bright cadmium yellow spots.

This form has proven difficult to breed although we hope that our F1's will be more productive. There is an ontogeny of color and pattern in this morph which is complex. The yellow does not begin to appear until animals are at least two years old. It starts off with a few spots on the belly and slowly increases with time. We suspect that yellow and red plant pigments (carotenoids) in the diet may be required for the accumulation of yellow pigment in the skin. Possibly exposure to a UV source also play a role. In any case, an older specimen of Nuu Ami mossy can be one of the most beautiful of the geckos. Selective breeding can only further improve this morph.